Stephen Strasburg left tonight’s game after just two innings thanks to a back injury, but Craig Stammen filled in masterfully for him, pitching four perfect innings to bail out the rest of the bullpen and hold on to a skinny lead. The offense returned to its recent form, pounding out nine hits, and joy returned to Natstown as the Nats took the series opener. Everything went as well as it could have, with offense and pitching clicking well in arguably the most important game of the Nationals’ season thus far.

Most Important Nationals Hit: Denard Span‘s second triple (+10.8%)

May 31, 2013; Atlanta, GA, USA; Washington Nationals center fielder Denard Span (2) celebrates with left fielder Roger Bernadina (33) after a win against the Atlanta Braves at Turner Field. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Shirey-USA TODAY Sports

Denard Span led the game off with a triple to left off Julio Teheran. Immediately afterwards, Steve Lombardozzi drove him in with a sacrifice fly to put the Nats on top 1-0. In the sixth inning, they decided to do it again. Span sent a grounder just fair down the right field line that Justin Upton had trouble getting to, and Span arrived at third standing up. Lombardozzi’s fly ball to right put the Nats up 3-1.

Most Important Nationals Pitch: Freddie Freeman‘s RBI single (-12.1%)

This game was really on the ropes in the seventh. Tyler Clippard let Ramiro Pena get a hit and advance to second on a wild pitch before Freeman drove him in, his second RBI of the day, to cut the Nats’ lead to 3-2. Clippard then proceeded to hit the next two batters with pitches and load the bases with one out. Just as surprisingly, he struck out the next two Braves to escape the jam.

Champ of the Game: Stammen (+25.4%) absolutely deserves this. Strasburg’s departure seemed to spell doom for the game, but he entered and retired all twelve Braves he faced, three by strikeout. For Atlanta, Freeman (+13.2%) drove in both of their runs, via a second-inning homer and a sixth-inning single.

Chump of the Game: Ryan Zimmerman (-10.3%) was 0-4 with a strikeout, but missed a home run by just a few feet on a flyout. Chris Johnson (-21.5%) was 0-3 with two strikeouts, including one that ended the sixth and preserved the Nats’ lead.

Feb 23, 2013; Port St Lucie, FL, USA; Washington Nationals relief pitcher Craig Stammen (35) throws in the third inning during a spring training game against the New York Mets at Tradition Field. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

ZiPS: 83.1 IP, 83 K, 35 BB, 3.24 ERA, 1.26 WHIP

MLB.com: 69 IP, 58 K, 26 BB, 3.65 ERA, 1.30 WHIP

CBSSports: 85 IP, 76 K, 32 BB, 3.39 ERA, 1.25 WHIP

ESPN Fantasy: 72 IP, 58 K, 25 BB, 3.88 ERA, 1.33 WHIP

Averages: 77.1 IP, 69 K, 30 BB, 3.54 ERA, 1.29 WHIP

Obviously, our evaluators believe the true Stammen is somewhere between the one that failed as a starter than the one that dominated as a reliever. It’s hard to expect another dominant season out of Stammen when he has shown himself to be capable of struggling as much as he did, but there doesn’t appear to have been anything too unsustainable in what he showed last year. He will also only be 29 for the 2013 season, which means it isn’t unreasonable to expect further improvement from him. But assuming no change in his abilities, a low-3s ERA makes sense, with plenty of strikeouts and walks. In fantasy, he is similar to most other non-closers in that he has all but no value. He’ll get strikeouts, holds, and a decent inning count, but nothing any other reliever will get. If you need a long reliever for some reason, he’s not a bad option. As a Nat, he’ll continue to bridge the elite rotation with the elite back end of the bullpen. He might not be as great as he was last season, but he will remain a productive reliever.

Update 2: Dan Kolko of MASN says that Tyler Clippard has avoided arbitration as well.

After solidifying their roster with trades and free agent signings, it seems like the Washington Nationals turned their attention to their own players, avoiding the dreaded arbitration hearings with Drew Storen, Craig Stammen, Ross Detwiler and Roger Bernadina.

September 29, 2012; St. Louis, MO, USA; Washington Nationals shortstop Ian Desmond (20) throws out a St. Louis Cardinals base runner during the second inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Rovak-USA TODAY Sports

Storen will receive an incentive laden $2.5 million which would mean more money if he returns as the team’s closer after General Manager Mike Rizzo made it known that Rafael Soriano was brought in to pitch the ninth inning. Basically, the more games that Storen finishes, the more money he will make.

Detwiler will also see a one-year deal worth $2.337 million. He is penciled in as the fifth starter right now, and if he has a solid season should be set to see that number rise over his career.

Stammen signed a 2-year extension worth a total of $2.25 million, according to Adam Kilgore. Stammen will be one of the middle relief guys in the Nationals bullpen and could start if injuries pile up in the rotation.

Bernadina also avoided arbitration, according to James Wagner. No terms have been announced as of yet.

That leaves Jordan Zimmermann as the two remaining Nationals who have not come to an agreement.  I would not be surprised to see a long-term contract finalized with Zimmermann as he is the de-facto third starter for this Nationals team and coming off of a great season after Tommy John surgery.